In the context of a complex global geo-environment and fluctuating overseas demand, my country has steadily advanced in its construction of a strong trading nation. Relying on industrial upgrading and high-level opening up, its foreign trade has delivered outstanding results. It is steadily moving from a large trading country that struggled for scale in the past to a modern trading power that emphasizes quality and has a diversified layout.
The latest statistics from the General Administration of Customs show that in the first four months of 2026, the country’s total import and export volume reached 16.23 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 14.9%. Both exports and imports maintained double-digit growth. Various segmented data confirm that the effectiveness of foreign trade transformation has taken root.
In the past, my country’s foreign trade relied on low-end processing and daily necessities to drive exports. Now, trade in goods has taken the lead in completing quality improvements and has become the core fulcrum of building a strong trading nation.
The green “three new things” represented by electric vehicles, lithium batteries, and wind power equipment continue to lead the overseas market. In the first four months, the export of new energy vehicles increased by 68.1%, and the export growth rate of lithium batteries and generator sets exceeded 40%. The AI industry chain has driven the export of semiconductors and data processing equipment to surge. The monthly export growth of integrated circuits has nearly doubled. High-tech electromechanical products account for more than 60% of the country’s exports. Chinese manufacturing has steadily climbed up the global value chain.
At the same time, the advantages of the shipbuilding industry have been highlighted. Domestic shipyards have won 90% of the world’s new orders for ultra-large tankers, and the overseas export of heavy industry equipment has become a new business card for foreign trade.
In addition to the iterative upgrade of trade in goods, the two new tracks of trade in services and digital trade have accelerated their efforts to make up for the shortcomings of the development of trade powers.
Relying on the service export support policy implemented by nine departments, my country’s film and television, Internet services, and engineering technology have become increasingly popular overseas. Domestic short dramas and application software have become popular around the world, and the scale of service import and export ranks second in the world.
Cross-border e-commerce and overseas warehouses are flourishing as digital trade carriers. Hundreds of thousands of foreign trade small and medium-sized enterprises across the country rely on online platforms to open up global sales, break geographical and channel restrictions, and new business formats continue to expand the incremental space for foreign trade.
Relying on the Belt and Road economic and trade cooperation layout, my country’s imports and exports to countries along the route have grown steadily, and trading partners have expanded to more than 160 countries and regions around the world. The diversified market has effectively hedged the risks of single market fluctuations and built a solid foundation for foreign trade development.
Policy protection is also the key to the steady advancement of building a trade power.
From the implementation details of domestic and foreign trade integration, green trade support programs, to the expansion of export credit insurance and the reform of cross-border settlement facilitation, multiple departments have intensively introduced supporting measures. On the one hand, they help private enterprises consolidate their position as the main force in foreign trade. Currently, private foreign trade entities contribute more than half of the import and export share. On the other hand, they rely on national exhibitions such as the China International Import Expo and the Canton Fair to build supply and demand bridges, continue to expand the import of high-quality goods, achieve two-way balanced development of optimal import and export, and activate the potential of domestic and international dual-cycle linkage.
Taking a long-term view, the “15th Five-Year Plan” clearly states that we will continue to deepen the construction of a trade power and continue to optimize the foreign trade structure around green, digital and high-end.
In the stage of reshaping the global trade pattern, China will continue to unleash its advantages in foreign trade resilience with its complete industrial chain, large domestic demand market and open policy.
After reading all the eye-catching data on foreign trade, what do you think of the changes around us brought about by the construction of my country into a trade power?
In daily consumption, more and more imported goodies and domestic high-end products are going abroad. You are welcome to share your views in the comment area.
